“I’m talking to this guy and he’s dying of cancer; he doesn’t have much time,” Ciccarelli told The Detroit News on Tuesday morning. “He said, ‘You’ve got 24 hours in a day and you have one minute a day to get upset and you better get over it and enjoy your day.’”

Ciccarelli continued: “Shawn Burr was the same way. He’d be down for one minute. And then he would change the mood and say, ‘Let’s not talk about this. Let’s go golfing.’ Shawn always put it in perspective.”

Shawn Burr came out of Ontario Hockey League as a big-time offensive force. He had 60 goals and 127 points in 59 games for the Kitchener Rangers in 1985-86. The Wings used the seventh pick of the 1984 NHL draft to select him. And many expected him to be a goal scorer on the level of Steve Yzerman. But he adjusted his game.

Although Burr had soft hands and could score (181 NHL career goals) he realized the Red Wings needed toughness on the ice. He protected teammates like a left tackle protecting his quarterback. One of those guys was Ciccarelli, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010 after scoring 608 goals in his NHL career. He played in a line with Keith Primeau and Burr, and sometimes Steve Yzerman.

“Shawn would always stick up for me so I could go out and do my thing,” Ciccarelli said. “He would come up to me before games and say, ‘Just play your game. Don’t worry about anybody coming near you.’ He would be there for me. He was a passionate player. He loved to play the game and he loved he physical part of it and would stand up for teammates.”

Ciccarelli knew a part of his Hall of Fame ring belonged to guys like Burr.

“Every time I looked at a photo Burr was in it,” Ciccarelli said. “A big piece of things happened for me because he played with me. Anytime anybody went near me or Stevie, Shawn was always there.”

Comments

We need a Burr on the team. We need that mentality on the team. This is exactly the kind of player Abby could turn into.. could.. “An offensive force in juniors.. adjust his game, realizing the team needed toughness” Love those team guys, self-sacrificing types.

When I heard the new, I assumed the cancer had returned. Then I read he died from a massive brain trauma from a fall down stairs of his house. What an awful way to go. I hope his daughters were not home at the time. RIP Shawn, you will be missed.

I loved the line he directed to Scotty Bowman’s face: Bowman once asked Burr what Burr thought of him and Burr replied: ‘‘You’re 60 years old, you use a horn to make line changes, you play with toy trains. I think you are retarded.’’

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